April 12, 2017

In the Abstract (No. 6)

"In the Abstract (No. 6)," 8x8in., mixed media on panel

I've been in a springy mood. And I just finished 9.5 Theses on Art and Class by Ben Davis, a heady take on the contemporary art world and its debates, and so I needed something light and sunshiny to paint.

"In a university art department, I would rather as my colleague the artist who makes watercolours of sunsets, but stands up to the administration, to the colleague who makes radical political noises, but colludes in imposing educationally disastrous government policies on the department," Davis quotes the artist Victor Burgin in a passage. Davis adds, "Expanding beyond the university milieu, I think this is a fine way to frame the question of art and politics today."